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Today
, at 12:00 , thousands of people gathered around the Angel of Independence to march for Gay Pride in Mexico City . At the same time, hundreds of soccer fans went out to celebrate Mexico ’s victory against Korea at the World Cup in Russia .
The avenue seemed split in two: On the right side, decorated floats and several groups stepping up to march for gay rights in Mexico were waving rainbow flags, cheering, and dancing to some of Gloria Trevi ’s greatest hits. On the other side, Mexican soccer fans were waving the national flag and cheering for their team.
Law enforcement officers with anti-riot equipment were standing next to the De La Palma roundabout as a preventive measure since some people had been expecting a clash between soccer fans and the Gay Community.
Mexican soccer fans shouting homophobic slurs on Gay Pride - Photo: David Morales
Due to some fans’ homophobic slur “ eeeeh, puto ,” Mexico’s national team has been fined on several occasions by FIFA authorities at the World Cup . During the Gay Pride march, soccer fans attempted to provoke the LGBTTTIQ community with the world-famous homophobic slur to no avail. After a while, people from both groups even traded flags and took pictures with each other.
Mexican actor and singer Carlos Rivera uploaded a picture on his Instagram profile with the caption: " Let's imagine badass things, for once! " referring to the Mexican soccer player Javier Hernández ' interview from last week, where he defended his team by saying that believing in yourself is often the best way to win. The picture shows soccer fans and people from the LGBTTTIQ community waving their flags in harmony.
This was the fortieth anniversary of Gay Pride in Mexico and several sponsoring companies participated in this year’s march, including Uber, Smart Fit, Facebook, Netflix, Nike, Absolut Vodka, and Unilever . In addition to the many citizens of Mexico City that took part in the march, there were many visitors from other states, as well as tourists from all over the world.
Uber's parade float at the Gay Pride 2018 in Mexico City - Photo: David Morales
We asked Shonda Harris from Grenada what she thought about Gay Pride in Mexico: “I have been living here for ten years and I love this country . This is my fifth year participating in the Gay Pride march and I’m here to support my friends. I have many gay friends and I love them very much,” she stated.
When asked about the Gay community in Mexico, she claimed that there had been a lot of progress in the country and that the community had garnered the acceptance and respect of many people, though there is still a long way to go in the fight against discrimination. “But this march is about freedom. That’s the word: Freedom . Because we are who we are, and we want to make it known . We want to keep supporting it.”
A boy waving the Mexican flag in the middle of the crowd - Photo: David Morales
There were also many tourists from the United States . We asked Julie, from New York , what she thought about the celebration: “I’m only visiting for a few days, but I love this country, I wanna move in here, with all these beautiful people! Me and my friend went to the last Pride parade in New York, but we like this one better.”
We asked Matt , a young man from Los Angeles , what he thought about the soccer fans’ homophobic slurring on the other side of the street: “Well, it sucks for them, you know? I have something that I want to say to them in Spanish: ‘ Chupan huevos!’ (They suck balls) ,” he shouted, jokingly. “We thought it was going to rain today, but look! Even the sun came out of the closet! ”
A group of cowboys riding horses at the Gay Pride - Photo: David Morales
This was undoubtedly a day to remember. The Gay Pride march is meant to remind us all that what makes us different also makes us stronger and brings us together as Mexicans.
David Morales
